"Such a step is regrettable" and is "out of keeping with bilateral relations," the official, said by the news agency to have requested anonymity, was quoted as saying.

However, "Russia does not need civilian nuclear cooperation with the United States more than (Washington)," the source added.

Amid tensions over Moscow's military actions in neighbouring Georgia, the US announcement came as both the State Department and the White House said Washington was watching Moscow's plans to stage unprecedented joint naval manoeuvres with Venezuela in waters off the oil-rich South American country.

The Russian government was notified last week of the planned decision via the US embassy in Moscow, a spokesman for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters.

The agreement aimed to allow Russian and US companies to form joint ventures in the nuclear sector and give the go-ahead for exchanges of nuclear technology between the two countries, according to officials on both sides.

Under the deal, Russia would also have been able to reprocess spent nuclear fuel originating in the United States, which accounts for most of the world market, in a move that raised fears of Russia being turned into a nuclear dump.

Bush and his Russian counterpart at the time Vladimir Putin inked the agreement at a summit in Kennebunkport in the United States last year.

The State Department has sought to play down the impact on non-proliferation of the deal's postponement.

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